Cavalotto

One family, one cellar, one unique hill: the Bricco Boschis and the Cavallotto Winery; a family of grape-growers for generations. This is a place rich in history where the vines found their ideal home, in a superb microclimate and with geologic structures that contain an ideal mix of calcareous marl and sand.

The farm, which was officially founded in 1928, along with the vineyards and winery, are the beating heart of the Cavallotto family’s work. The family personally supervises all of the winery activities from the vineyards to cellars. The 23 planted hectares of the family farm cradle a much longer history that began in the 18th century: Bricco Boschis, then known as Monte della Guardia, was the property of the Countess Juliette Colbert. The current name is from Giuseppe Boschis, the vineyard manager of much of the Countess’ estates, who inherited this land from her.

In 1928, Giacomo Cavallotto acquired the whole Boschis property, and in 1946 his grandchildren – the brothers Olivio and Gildo – began to vinify the estate’s entire grape production for sale as their own bottled and labeled wine. They had learned how to make wine – in addition to the traditional viticultural practices – under the expert guidance of their father Giuseppe and their Uncle Marcello (both Giacomo’s sons).

In 1948 the cellars were expanded to accommodate the growing production and the brand “Cavallotto” was launched into the market with the first bottling of Barolo. 1967 saw the addition of the name of the cru “Bricco Boschis” on the label, and 1970 brought the addition of the vineyard parcels to the label: Vigna San Giuseppe, Colle Sudovest (Southwest Hill), Punta Marcello (Marcello’s Hilltop) and for the Barbera d’Alba, Vigna Cuculo.

In 1989 the family acquired 60% of the historic Vignolo Cru (adjacent to the Bricco Boschis) and were the first to bottle this cru on its own as the Cavallotto Barolo Riserva Vignolo. Since 1995, the vineyard plots of Colle Sudovest and Punta Marcello were reborn as a “normal” Barolo (a “non-riserva” wine, as had been the practice here from 1948 to 1967) with the name of Cru Bricco Boschis.

Since the end of the 1980’s, Olivio’s children Alfio, Giuseppe and Laura have continued the work of gradual growth and constant quality improvements begun by their father and uncle. The cellars were also expanded: in 1994, a new barrel aging cellar was excavated into the Bricco Boschis hill and was attached to the existing bottling and aging areas, and in 2008 the bottle aging cellar was expanded.

The vineyards of the Cavallotto family have three unique features: The 25 hectares of planted vines are a contiguous piece of land that encompasses the Bricco Boschis and Vignolo crus, they are all estate vineyards (the family owns 100% of the vineyards farmed) and the land is worked according to an integrated farming concept that includes the use of organic farming practices.

Through the choice of producing and bottling wine under their own label exclusively from their own grapes since 1948 the Cavallotto family has created both a unique identity and a high level of quality in the Bricco Boschis brand, both of which have strengthened over time.

More than half the vineyard area (17 ha) is planted to Nebbiolo for Barolo that is harvested at an average of 38 hl/ha. 3ha are planted to Dolcetto, and 2ha to Barbera. The rest of the vineyard land is planted to a mix of Freisa, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Grignolino.

All of our vines are pruned according to the classic Guyot Basso with low-hanging fruit cluster formation. The winter pruning leaves 8-10 buds for Nebbiolo and 5-7 for the other varieties. All plants are pruned with a spur for the succeeding year’s growth with 2 buds. Each hectare is planted to about 5000 vines, with native plants and grasses left to grow between the rows. The grasses are cut and mulched 2-4 times per year (with the area directly around each plant cut by hand), depending on the weather and climate conditions.

Alfio and Giuseppe Cavallotto, both enologists, are deeply attentive to their vineyard practices, and all work is performed according to a fundamental respect for the land.

For example, the native grasses that grow between the rows of vines form humus in the soil once mowed, and thus the soil is better able to absorb moisture and resist erosion caused by the rapid runoff of rainfall during thunderstorms. All seasonal labor in the vines is performed by hand.

Climatically, the Lower Langhe region around Alba has hot and dry summers (average summer temperature is 26°C) with snowy, cold winters. The spring and autumn intervals are generally mild; the vines are well-adapted to the particular local climatic conditions.

The cantina comprises of four sections carved out of the hillside in which the grapes are transformed into wine. In the winery, both young and aged wines cross paths, with each different vintage expressing its character in accordance with the various processes that the Cavallotto family has conceived and perfected through experience and careful planning, and which best displays the unique microclimate of the Bricco Boschis.

The Vinification room was constructed in 1971 and has both horizontal and vertical temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks in which the grapes begin their fermentation from indigenous yeasts. Crush is according to modern practices with the sole exception that the grapes are not passed through a crushing machine during the destemming process. The slow rotating action of the blades (made specifically for this purpose) in the horizontal rotofermentors allow us to keep the floating skins below the level of the fermenting liquid for a long, semi-submerged-cap maceration. After the fermentation of the young wines has finished, Dolcetto and Freisa are transferred to concrete tanks for the malolactic, while wines made for ageing, such as Barolo, Nebbiolo and Barbera, are racked to large casks (botti) of Slavonian oak located in the aging cellars. For these latter wines, malolactic occurs the following spring, when the wines are re-racked back to the cement tanks in the fermentation room. Warmer ambient temperatures (18-19°C) in this area start the malolactic without use of inoculating agents.

The Ageing Cellars are the cradle of the Noble Wines, where especially the Barolo matures and takes on its unique characteristics. The area was excavated from the inside of the Bricco Boschis hill, and is the realm of the untoasted Slavonian Oak botti (which range in size from 20 to 100 hectoliters). The Cavallotto Family has created a superb microclimate inside the heart of the hill where the constant temperature and humidity are maintained by virtue of tubular vents in the walls which expose the subterranean calcareous marl to the cellar air. This “Camera d’Aria” (Room for Air) contains and represents the essence of the Cavallotto family’s work and passion for their wines.

The Bottling Area was constructed in 1952 and contains the monoblock bottling machine made by GAI, a local company (located not far from the Cavallotto Winery) that makes bottling machines of the best and latest technology for the bottling of highest-quality wines, which are in use around the world.

The Ageing Cellar for the bottles (always resting on their sides) is a single underground room that was excavated in 1992, and has a constant temperature that is optimal for the conservation of bottled wine. In 2009 work was finished on an expansion which added vents that opened on to the subterranean calcareous marl and which help maintain constant humidity of 80% at a temperature of 15C. Bottled wine rests here in anticipation of being prepared for sale (labeling, boxing and palletizing).